Lemony Egg Soup With Escarole

Lemony Egg Soup With Escarole
Evan Sung for The New York Times
Total Time
30 minutes
Rating
5(652)
Notes
Read community notes

This lemon-scented soup, based on a Greek avgolemono, is a warming meal in the depths of winter. Made with good chicken broth, it’s familiar and comforting. But fresh lemon adds a sunny brightness while the egg and rice thicken things up, making the broth richer and heartier. To add vegetable matter, I stir some escarole into the soup, letting it wilt until silky and soft. If you like you can substitute spinach or baby kale for the escarole, adding an extra few minutes to the cooking time if using the kale.

Featured in: Breaking Free From Winter’s Hold With a Lemony Escarole Soup

Learn: How to Make Soup

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings
  • 5cups chicken stock
  • ½cup white rice
  • 4cups escarole, coarsely chopped
  • 3large eggs
  • 2 to 3tablespoons fresh lemon juice, as needed
  • ½teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
  • Kosher salt and black pepper
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

270 calories; 7 grams fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 3 grams monounsaturated fat; 1 gram polyunsaturated fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 3 grams dietary fiber; 5 grams sugars; 15 grams protein; 1077 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    In a medium pot, bring stock to a simmer. Add rice and simmer gently until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in escarole for the last 5 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and 2 tablespoons lemon. Whisking constantly, slowly ladle 1 cup hot broth into the egg mixture. Pour mixture into the pot of hot stock. Cook gently until soup begins to thicken, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with lemon zest, salt, pepper and more lemon juice, if desired.

Ratings

5 out of 5
652 user ratings
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Cooking Notes

This is a wonderful belly-filling soup. I make it with escarole and sometimes throw in some thinly sliced fennel, gives it a little more body and enhanced flavor. Can't get enough of this one!

Me again ... I also drizzle sparingly some EVOO over top of each bowl and a good sprinkle of Parmegiana or Pecorino, whichever I have on hand

I made this with vegetable stock and it was still incredibly delicious. Rather than stir in the lemon juice, I drizzled it over each bowl along with the olive oil, as recommended by others. Definitely will make again.

I used Napa cabbage instead of escarole, because that's what I had on hand, plus I added some leftover cooked chicken. Turned out delicious! Comfort food. Mine curdled a bit, but it doesn't bother me.

Easy and lovely. I made it with brown rice instead of white and simmered about 40 minutes before adding the escarole.

Really delicious, a little taste of spring on a cold day. I used orzo instead of rice and spinach instead of escarole because of what I had on hand, and it was lovely. Very versatile and easy to whip up with limited time for dinner.

I loved this. Good flavor from pantry items I almost always have on hand. Heads up, I left it on the stove for a few minutes longer than the recipe stated and the texture went from soupy to lumpy very quickly.

More broth, less rice, carrots instead of greens. 6 cups broth, 4 eggs, 4 tbsp lemon.

could I use orzo instead of rice?

Delicious! Mine came out thicker than I expected; I might try it with only two eggs the next time. I took the liberty to finely chop up some rotisserie chicken to throw in there, which worked nicely--was delicious with and without.

Fantastic! Even leftover, though it thickened quite a bit. Next time I will put in more escarole though.

Tweaked it a little ... Kale and carrots. Used the juice of a large lemon, which added to the lemon flavor and used 1 TBL of zest. Plus copied another poster by cooking a 1/4 lb chicken breast in onion and garlic. I then shredded chicken adding it after the egg mixture was blended. Definitely will prepare again!

Very easy to make, clear instructions, I added kale instead of escarole and it worked perfectly.

This was fabulous. I simmered leftover chicken bones with a chopped leek and four cloves of garlic, then strained out the bones and followed the rest of the recipe, though with more lemon and black pepper. Couldn't get enough.

Excellent soup. If you add an onion, tons of garlic, and some red chili flakes, it will cure a cold.

Took soup off heat while we ate. Soup in pan, despite having cooled, curdled. Very fine line between cooked and curdled. Delicious, though.

The only question is how can something this easy be so incredibly good.

Delicious! I reduced the recipe as it was just me and I added just a touch of feta to my egg bath with lemon. Tomorrow I will add a bit of fresh cod and enjoy with crusty bread. Also added capers. 3 cups of spinach in place of escarole as it was what I had. Cheers~!

This was outstanding. My eggs did do a bit of curdling, but that did not affect the texture or the flavor. Will make it again, and maybe use both spinach and escarole and sub orzo for the rice.

Yummmm. I added dill, white beans, and carrots, just to bulk it up a little. Added the EVOO and parm at the end like other reviewers. Spinach instead of escarole b/c that's what I had on hand. So easy, affordable, and delicious. Huge win.

I tried broccoli rabe for the greens when I couldn’t find escarole at the store. Bad idea! Not the soup’s fault, the rest of it tastes delicious.

I followed the recipe as written and wouldn’t change a thing. So simple, yet a new favorite in my family!

What a delightful recipe! I’ll make this again and again. I used lacinato kale and spinach, as I had it on hand. And I added quite a bit more lemon zest. Incredibly quick to prepare and so satisfying.

I added 1 tablespoon of white miso and 1 tablespoon of soy sauce.

This dish can be made start to finish in about 15 minutes if you use precooked rice (I used an 8.8 oz. package of Minute brown rice). Absolutely perfect on a blustery, cold spring day when you need a taste of sunshine in your life! Half the recipe is good for two (two eggs and two-plus tablespoons of lemon juice) and arugula works well in place of escarole. Thanks again for another winner, Melissa!

Made it exactly as written and it was delicious; would try with some onions, garlic, and carrots next time.

simple and warming - used alphabet pastina instead of rice to finish off what i had, along with beef broth bc it was on hand. started w a base of caramelized onions, added a few more spices & pepper - delicious

Excellent soup. If you add an onion, tons of garlic, and some red chili flakes, it will cure a cold.

swapped escarole for swiss chard. otherwise followed the recipe. YUM

also swapped out the rice for orzo. i believe this is a far better choice.

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